WASHINGTON — U.S. producer prices recorded their largest drop in three years in April as gasoline and food costs tumbled, pointing to weak inflation pressures that should give the Federal Reserve latitude to keep monetary policy very accommodative.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday its seasonally adjusted producer price index fell 0.7% last month, the biggest decline since February 2010. Wholesale prices had dropped 0.6% in March.

Gold prices helped lift the Toronto stock market into positive territory on Thursday, as Wall Street weakened on disappointing earnings and a weak outlook for the Chinese economy.
The S&P/TSX composite index initially opened down but was soon up 11.10 points to 13,999.30, propped up mainly by the gold sector.

The Producer Price Index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level for goods and services, and thus up the pipeline from the Consumer Price Index, jumped 2.5% in April from a year ago, the steepest increase since February 2012, blowing past consensus expectations of 2.2% (chart by Trading Economics):

Following the unexpectedly hot Chinese inflation data, where PPI posted its first annual increase since March 2012, moments ago the BLS reported that like in China, US wholesale prices also rose more than the 0.2% expected, up 0.3% in September, following an unchanged print the prior month. Over 75% of the jump was driven to an increase in goods prices. On an annual basis, the final demand index increased 0.7% in September from a year ago, the largest 12-month rise since advancing 0.9% in December 2014.

WASHINGTON — U.S. wholesale prices fell for the third month in a row last month, pushed down by falling food and gas costs. The drop is the latest evidence inflation is tame. The producer price index dropped 0.2 percent in December, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That follows a decline of 0.8 percent in November. The index measures price changes before they reach the consumer. Wholesale prices rose 1.3 percent in 2012, much lower than the 4.7 percent increase in 2011. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core wholesale prices ticked up 0.1 percent in December.

WASHINGTON — U.S. wholesale prices fell for the third month in a row last month, pushed down by falling food and gas costs. The drop is the latest evidence inflation is tame. The producer price index dropped 0.2 percent in December, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That follows a decline of 0.8 percent in November. The index measures price changes before they reach the consumer. Wholesale prices rose 1.3 percent in 2012, much lower than the 4.7 percent increase in 2011. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core wholesale prices ticked up 0.1 percent in December.